Butterfly populations across Nigeria are facing a troubling decline, sparking concern among environmentalists and researchers. Recent observations indicate that widespread herbicide use, habitat destruction, and climate stress are major contributors to this alarming trend. Traditionally seen as indicators of a healthy ecosystem, butterflies are now vanishing from areas where they once thrived. Experts point to the loss of native host plants, such as cassava, milkweed, and passion vine, which are essential for butterfly breeding and survival. These plants are increasingly being sprayed with chemicals or removed entirely due to urban expansion and modern agricultural practices. Compounding the problem is the absence of a national monitoring system to track pollinator populations. Without intervention, the decline of butterflies may signal deeper ecological imbalances. Conservationists are urging immediate action to regulate chemical use, preserve natural habitats, and establish long-term monitoring to safeguard Nigeria’s delicate biodiversity.
Butterflies are becoming less visible in Nigeria, reflecting a global decline in insect populations linked to human activities. Universally, long-term ecological studies have linked increased chemical use in agriculture and urban spaces to sustained declines in insect populations, including butterflies and other pollinators. Experts point to key drivers such as chemical use, habitat loss, and climate stress. Host plants like milkweed and passion vine, vital for butterfly reproduction, are often destroyed or sprayed with herbicides. Rising temperatures and irregular rainfall further threaten their survival. Nigeria also lacks a national monitoring system to track pollinator decline, making conservation efforts difficult. Scientists warn that without urgent action to protect habitats and regulate chemical use, butterfly populations may continue to fall, disrupting broader ecosystem balance. Despite their role as indicators of environmental health, butterflies receive little policy or research attention in Nigeria, unlike bees. Yet butterflies are part of a wider group of pollinators whose presence reflects ecosystem stability. Because they are highly sensitive to environmental change and closely tied to specific plants, butterflies are often among the first species to decline when ecosystems are under stress.
Butterflies are particularly sensitive to pesticides due to their feeding habits and reproductive cycles. In Nigeria, this vulnerability is heightened as caterpillars rely on specific host plants for survival. When these plants absorb chemical residues from herbicides and pesticides, both caterpillars and adult butterflies face direct exposure, often resulting in mortality or reproductive failure. Commonly affected host plants in Nigeria include cassava (Manihot esculenta), wild senna (Senna occidentalis), milkweed (Calotropis procera), and passion vine (Passiflora foetida). These species play a crucial role in supporting different butterfly species at various stages of their life cycle from egg-laying to larval development. However, they are increasingly threatened by agricultural expansion, routine herbicide spraying, and land clearing practices. As these vital plants disappear, so do the butterflies that depend on them, contributing to the broader decline of pollinators across the country. Protecting these host plants is essential for sustaining butterfly populations and maintaining ecological balance.
The widespread use of pesticides is not unique to Nigeria. What distinguishes Nigeria is the scale of informal chemical use.Agrochemicals are often sold without adequate labelling or guidance, and herbicides intended for farms are routinely applied along roadsides, drainage channels and residential plots. These areas may appear environmentally insignificant, but they often host native plants that support pollinators. Nigeria regulates agrochemicals through the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), yet environmental researchers note that enforcement gaps allow misuse to persist. Even approved chemicals can become harmful when applied indiscriminately or outside their intended settings. For butterflies and other pollinators, exposure at the larval stage is particularly damaging, reducing survival before populations can recover. Habitat loss is another critical factor, though it is often misunderstood. Butterfly decline extends beyond disappearing forests. Many species depend on plants commonly regarded as weeds, such as Tridax procumbens, Chromolaenaodorata and Aspilia africana, which provide nectar for adult butterflies and other insects. In urban and peri-urban Nigeria, these plants are routinely cleared during landscaping and sanitation exercises. The result is an environment that appears orderly but lacks the biological diversity pollinators need to survive. Similar trends have been documented globally. In Europe and North America, long-term monitoring programmesshow sustained butterfly declines associated with intensive land use, pesticide exposure and habitat simplification. In Africa, including Nigeria, comparable long-term data are largely absent.However, local studies in protected areas indicate that butterfly diversity drops sharply where vegetation is disturbed. Scientists caution that the lack of national monitoring does not suggest stability; it highlights a blind spot in biodiversity governance.
Climate change adds further pressure. Butterflies and other pollinators are sensitive to temperature and rainfall patterns that influence breeding cycles and plant growth. Rising heat levels and increasingly unpredictable rainfall affect both insects and the vegetation they rely on. Global climate assessments consistently show that insects in tropical regions face heightened risk because they already operate close to their physiological limits. Butterfly decline matters beyond conservation concerns. Butterflies contribute to pollination networks that support wild vegetables, medicinal plants and shrubs important for ecosystem balance and household resilience. Plants such as Ocimum gratissimum (scent leaf), Vernonia amygdalina (bitter leaf) and various wild legumes benefit from diverse insect pollination. As pollinator diversity declines, plant reproduction becomes less reliable, affecting food diversity and ecosystem stability.
Nigeria currently lacks a national system to monitor butterfly populations, and insects are often excluded from environmental impact assessments. Globally, butterflies serve as key indicator species, offering early warnings of ecological decline. In Nigeria, however, environmental damage is often noticed only after becoming severe. Experts stress the need for stronger regulation of informal agrochemical markets, biodiversity-friendly land clearing, and the inclusion of insects in monitoring frameworks. Establishing basic tracking for butterflies would help guide land-use and chemical policies. Without such measures, butterfly decline driven by weak regulation, unsustainable land use, and limited data will persist, affecting ecosystems and human livelihoods alike.
